Woman who sent photos of her bare chest for 'breast cancer project' became suspicious after she was asked to include her face

"Thinking back, I feel so stupid," said the 20-year-old flight attendant.

Melissa (not her real name) had fallen for a man's devious scheme to dupe her and several other women into sending him photos of their breasts.

Speaking to The New Paper over the phone, she said: "My family and boyfriend scolded me for trusting someone so easily.

"I still feel so angry at the scammer. I'll punch his face if I ever find out who he is."

One afternoon in May, Melissa received a message from a female friend whom she had not spoken to recently. The message over Facebook asked Melissa for help with a breast cancer project the "friend" was working on.

How to avoid being scammed

Ignore unsolicited calls, especially those from unknown parties. Scammers may use caller ID spoofing technology to mask the actual overseas phone number, and show a local number. If you receive a suspicious call from a local number, hang up, wait five minutes, then call the number back to check the validity of the request.

Ignore instructions to remit or transfer money. No government agency will ask you to make payments through a telephone call, especially to a third party's bank account.

Do not provide your personal information such as name, identification card number, passport details, bank account number or credit card details to the callers. Such valuable information may be used for criminal activities.

Call a trusted friend or talk to a relative before you act. You may be overwhelmed by emotion and err in your judgment.

If you have information related to such crimes or if you are in doubt, call 1800-255-0000, or dial 999 for urgent police assistance.

Beware of parcel scams by 'overseas officials'

In some scams, people impersonate overseas officials to get victims to hand over money.

Since March, the police have received more than 50 reports from victims who have been tricked into sending more than $4 million to such scammers.

In an advisory yesterday, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) said that victims would receive calls from the scammers informing them that parcels containing illegal items had been shipped in their names.

The victims were told that the parcels were delivered to their local addresses and they were asked to remit monies to bank accounts in China or to make fund transfers through Internet banking to accounts in Malaysia.

Recent cases also had victims visiting a webpage where they were told to enter their personal details and bank information.

There has also been a shift in the modus operandi of scammers who pose as police officers or staff from local courier companies such as SingPost.

This variation involves victims receiving calls with fake local numbers, instead of overseas numbers, to make the ruse more believable.